First director of French-speaking Switzerland television died

René Schenker, television pioneer and first director of TSR television in French-speaking Switzerland, died on Friday in Genthod at the age of 86. He headed TSR between 1958 and 1973, and then the radio and television of French-speaking Switzerland until 1985. TSR announced his death in a communiqué on Saturday evening, according to SDA. Schenker, who was born on July 20, 1920, first made a career as a singer. In 1947, he joined the radio in Geneva, where he made it to deputy director. In 1952, he launched a Geneva television station as an experiment. After a stint at the BBC in London, he continued to work for Geneva Television until it became the official Swiss television station in French on November 1, 1954. In 1958, the television pioneer was appointed the first director of TSR television in French-speaking Switzerland. From 1973 until his retirement, he served as Director of TSR and French-speaking Swiss Radio.